Felipe Massa has alleged that Ferrari took disciplinary action against him in the wake of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal, as one of Formula 1′s biggest legal battles gathers pace.
Massa has hit back in his court case against the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix conspiracy after his endeavours were branded “misguided” by their lawyers.
The ex-Ferrari driver has maintained the controversial race, which saw Alonso emerge victorious after a staged crash by his Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr, cost him the 2008 title.
Alonso kept his win, but the Renault team fell into disarray as team boss Flavio Briatore and Technical Director Pat Symonds were fired, and the team’s title sponsor walked away.
The Brazilian went on the offensive in the days after Crashgate became public, accusing Alonso of knowing about the plan to fix the race, which the Spaniard has always denied.
“It was the team and Nelson, but Alonso was part of the problem,” the Brazilian angrily said in 2009.
“He knew. We cannot know it, [but] of course he knew. Absolute certainty.”
Massa reveals disciplinary action by Ferrari for Crashgate comments
But Massa’s situation was about to change dramatically, as Ferrari announced Alonso would join the team for 2010, creating a volatile situation between the pair.
Ferrari delivered a scathing rebuke of its current driver, the Brazilian, revealing that the team had reprimanded him for his comments to the media.
“In October 2009 I also told journalists that I believed Fernando Alonso (the other Renault driver who won because of Nelsinho’s crash) knew it was on purpose,” he said in a statement.
“When Ferrari found out, GSA [a firm which dealt with Ferrari contracts] wrote me a letter on 16 October 2009 reprimanding me about making public comments about Fernando Alonso.
“I found out before my accident in July 2009 that Alonso would drive for Ferrari in the 2010 F1 season.”
Massa also confirmed that such was the concern from Ferrari, he was instructed to issue a statement on the matter, crafted by the team, a task he refused to do.
“The letter was signed by [one of Ferrari’s lawyers] Henry Peter. Ferrari then drafted a statement for me to issue but I refused to make that statement.
“Instead, I just said that it was time to look to the future.”
READ MORE – Felipe Massa’s 2008 F1 title court case branded ‘misguided’
Discussion about this post